The Final Tycoonist
10/24/2022
For those who missed the memo, this will be the final issue of the Tycoonist Weekly (see my previous announcement for more).
However, this won’t be the end of me making content. Far from it, in fact.
For one, I’ll be launching a travel lifestyle blog/video channel at the start of 2023, which may appeal to other digital nomads. As far as finance/business content goes, I will continue to write on actionable investing ideas for Seeking Alpha under the “Value Tycoon” account, and post my trades on my Public investing platform account @mikeberner. And if you want to keep up with my ranting/shitposting, feel free to follow me on Twitter or TikTok.
A few of you have written to me expressing that you don’t use social media, which would make it difficult to keep up with my content on other platforms. In light of that, I will continue to send out occasional updates/links through this email list…so don’t unsubscribe just yet.
It’s been real, but rest assured—the fun will continue elsewhere.
Mike
Featured Article
Business Analysis, Book Reviews, Investments, and More
The Media Hates Zuck’s Big Metaverse Bet
Make Mark Happy—or M.M.H. for short.
That’s the derisive moniker that some Meta Platforms (née Facebook) workers have reportedly attached to Mark Zuckerberg’s pet megaproject…which is actually one of the nicer things that people have said.
A Tycoonist examination of headlines from Google News found that the media remains overwhelmingly negative on Zuck’s metaverse plans.
Of the first 100 search results using the terms “metaverse” and “Zuckerberg,” 68% could be classified as negative or outright hostile in tone. 23% were neutral, and only 9% resembled something that might be considered positive. A brief sampling of the downbeat headlines will convey the flavor of current media thinking.
Why Facebook’s metaverse is destined to be the biggest flop in tech history (Vulcan Post)
Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse is getting slammed in internal documents: ‘An empty world is a sad world’ (Fortune)
Mark Zuckerberg is ‘derailing’ Facebook, says Harvard expert—here's how he can get ‘back on track' (CNBC)
The Continued Unraveling of Mark Zuckerberg’s Malicious Metaverse (CoinDesk)
Others approach the level of sheer farce. Singer-songwriter Grimes, who apparently became qualified to opine on tech matters after she banged Elon Musk, was actually quoted in one Business Insider headline as saying that Zuck is “‘Under-qualified’ to Run Metaverse” (does anyone know if her lectures come on audiobook, by any chance? Please?).
Now let’s turn to the obvious question that few in the media think to ask: what do the early adopters think?
Well, turns out they’re absolutely raving about it.
86% of Amazon reviewers award Meta’s Quest 2 VR headset a perfect score. Again, a brief sampling of the comment headlines will give you the overall impression:
Total awesomeness
Absolute Best thing I have ever purchased for myself
changed my life
This is the VR headset EVERYONE needs
By now, the Quest 2 has sold 15M units since its 2020 release, trouncing Xbox and other video game consoles. But you rarely see that reported. The media, with its perpetual hate-boner for Zuck, prefers to focus on the 2% of disgruntled cranks who leave nasty comments.
Focus on the Superfans
As we discussed in “Spotting Opportunities,” the next big thing never achieves immediate mass market appeal. The diffusion process of a hit product begins in niche groups of passionate superfans, not the general public. In the case of Meta, many VR headset owners are gamers, who are typically treated dismissively by the media and business community.
Strangely, Meta has decided to focus on skeptical business customers in their marketing rather than the core gamer constituency—perhaps hoping that enterprise customers will foot the bill for the headsets.
Somehow, one imagines that ex-board member Peter Thiel wouldn’t approve of that strategy (in his book Zero to One, Thiel advises entrepreneurs to “dominate a small niche and scale up from there, toward your ambitious long-term vision,” which Meta is decidedly ignoring)
For the moment, Zuck maintains a massive head start. In time, one would expect Meta to improve its marketing…unless someone else beats them at it.
Book Recs and More
Looking for business books, movies, an oil barrel coffee mug, and other useful (or useless) gadgets for life? Check out the Tycoonist Amazon page